Asteroid Defense

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-02-08 07:31pm

What are the best possible options so far?
I've heard of using nukes, but exploding the asteroid may just split it into smaller fragments. Using a nuke to divert it might not contain enough energy. There's some stuff about using lasers to heat up the asterioid and making it change it's course, and one really strange one I heard about painting it black and having the photos it absorb change its course.

What I want to know is which would be the most feasible choice, in say, about 50 years. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?

I now have to go before some girl starts bonking me over the head with a pencil and tells me to go to back to work. I'll check back in awhile.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-02-08 07:39pm

It's not only a question of technology. That's a minor part. The main variable of the problem is the warning time. If you know the collision is coming with sufficient advance, then present tech will suffice. Just explode a few nukes in strategic places along the trajectory and that'll be enough to alter the asteroid's course.

Another approach, feasible in the near future, are mass launchers. They too need sufficient warning time. Just put a machine on top of the asteroid and start pumping out matter. During the course of years, that would also divert the course to the desired trajectory.

On the other hand, if you only have a ten days warning, no tech from the present or 50 years ahead future will be enough to prevent the collision.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2003-02-08 07:53pm

Giant Orbiting Death Laser.....

WHAT? Its Fesable, plus it will be damn Cool!

Looking forward to the Future we could always mount one in that DS Moon look-alike we have in our Solar system... whats is name agian?

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-02-08 07:54pm

Colonel Olrik wrote:It's not only a question of technology. That's a minor part. The main variable of the problem is the warning time. If you know the collision is coming with sufficient advance, then present tech will suffice. Just explode a few nukes in strategic places along the trajectory and that'll be enough to alter the asteroid's course.

Another approach, feasible in the near future, are mass launchers. They too need sufficient warning time. Just put a machine on top of the asteroid and start pumping out matter. During the course of years, that would also divert the course to the desired trajectory.

On the other hand, if you only have a ten days warning, no tech from the present or 50 years ahead future will be enough to prevent the collision.

Bruce Willis

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-02-08 08:12pm

Super Excalibur.

Nuclear bomb pumped X-ray laser on the moon.

That or a fuck off huge railgun or NPB. Even if the 'roid is really big and fast, the plasma burn off should properl it slightly off course if it is far enough.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-02-08 08:22pm

Warning is more important than the scale of weaponry used. A large asteroid detected 2 years out will definitely hit the Earth, regardless of nukes. But if the same asteroid is detected 120 years out, then there's enough time to guide it out of its path. Really, a strong holding on the solar system is the thing we need to accomplish this.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-02-08 08:44pm

I don't know. I somehow doubt that an asteroid or meteor couldn't be stopped by flinging the entire nuclear arsenal of the world at it.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-02-08 08:51pm

I don't know. I somehow doubt that an asteroid or meteor couldn't be stopped by flinging the entire nuclear arsenal of the world at it.

It would be a lot more profitable if we could divert it into a stable orbit and mine from it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-02-08 09:20pm

Durran Korr wrote:I don't know. I somehow doubt that an asteroid or meteor couldn't be stopped by flinging the entire nuclear arsenal of the world at it.

IIRC, the entire nuclear arsenal of the world is less than 5 gigatons (and I don't know how you're supposed to launch them all to millions of kilometres away, since they weren't designed for that). You're looking at 20-30 gigatons to fragment a 30km wide asteroid.

Warning time is still the most important defense.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-02-08 09:24pm

Exnorate, I suggest you read Entering Space by Dr. Robert Zubrin. Zubrin is a strong proporent of colonizing Mars and setting up a Type III civilization in the galaxy. Brilliant book... [/i]

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-02-08 09:30pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Durran Korr wrote:I don't know. I somehow doubt that an asteroid or meteor couldn't be stopped by flinging the entire nuclear arsenal of the world at it.
IIRC, the entire nuclear arsenal of the world is less than 5 gigatons (and I don't know how you're supposed to launch them all to millions of kilometres away, since they weren't designed for that). You're looking at 20-30 gigatons to fragment a 30km wide asteroid.

Warning time is still the most important defense.

Currently five is about right. Twenty years ago 20 Gigatons might have been scrapped. However none of it can reach orbit, let alone break orbit and find a asteroid. You also have the problem that the first nuke to go off with destroy any others close to it, you'd have to fire them with a lot of spacing. Multiple simultaneous detonations are impossible.

However making new bombs won't take a real long time if existing ones are used for material. With 40-6 months warning the world could probably send a steady stream of 100+ megaton bombs at an incoming asteroid.

There's already an existing plan and delivery vechical design, which would use an existing rocket, and bomb design to deal with any small asteroids. The bomb is 9 megatons, but its now being pulled out of service. Lower megaton range devices could still be found in the Russian and Chinese inventories though.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-02-09 01:58am

Ok... Thanks for all the responses.

We've decided to just move the colony (Which will be in the asteroid belt) out of the way in the case of a large asteroid (Like 1km+) instead of trying to alter the course of it. In the case of small asteroids, thrusters will attached to the asteroid, which will then be used to alter it's course...

As a last resort, explosives (No nukes - illegal

) will be used.

The guys didn't really like the "Stick an mass accelerator onto the asteroid then use the recoil to move it" idea...

And if anybody here is confused, this is for a school club... We're supposed to operate an mining colony in the asteroid belt.

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-02-09 02:01am

Oh, and if anybody is interested, I came across an idea to paint the asteroid black, and hope the photons it absorbed would be enough to change its course...

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-02-09 02:47am

Oh, and if anybody is interested, I came across an idea to paint the asteroid black, and hope the photons it absorbed would be enough to change its course...

That's... quite a shitload of paint.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-02-09 03:17am

Exonerate wrote:Oh, and if anybody is interested, I came across an idea to paint the asteroid black, and hope the photons it absorbed would be enough to change its course...

The nukes work a lot better.

Pu-239 · Post by **Pu-239** » 2003-02-09 12:52pm

Mr Bean wrote:Giant Orbiting Death Laser.....

WHAT? Its Fesable, plus it will be damn Cool!

Looking forward to the Future we could always mount one in that DS Moon look-alike we have in our Solar system... whats is name agian?

I think it's Mimas, a moon of Saturn.